Social media contests are a great way to get your audience involved. A well-designed social media contest will encourage followers to like and share your content. It also encourages new potential customers to begin following your social media page. Choose a prize for your contest like a gift card that will encourage the winner to patronize your business regularly. The prize should be of a high value to your customer without making you stretch your budget too far.​

Your business should use every tool at its disposal to become more successful. Social media is one of the best tools you have available. Don’t be afraid to use it to help you get what you want. By doing things like these, you can make sure that you take advantage of all the benefits that social media can offer your business.
Read this next: 7 Digital Marketing Tips for Business Owners

1. ​Create an outstanding GOOGLE MY BUSINESS profile. 
Google has over 86% of the search market share. It is very important to share your information on google, and respond to the reviews and data on the Google Platform. 

2. Collect potential clients’ e-mail addresses.
Your email list should be your best online marketing tool. By offering free information or whitepapers, you can exchange the data for an email address in order to share future information and offers.

3. Use video testimonials.
Happy customers can speak volumes for your products and services. 

4. Make your website mobile friendly.
Having a responsive website that functions on all platforms is important for your site. Google has made this a top priority in the past couple of years.

5. Work on your reputation, get customer reviews.
Many people research a business and their reputation online before making a purchase. Getting and responding to client reviews is a top ranking factor

6. Create a local guide to get some local links.
Adding city information and links to your website is a good benefit for local SEO.

7. Research your competitors’ keywords.
Checking in on the competition's website and keywords is crucial in staying ahead of the game. If you want to be seen as the expert in your field, then continue posting information and staying top of mind for your industry's top key terms.

1. Set a budget for your website design project.
   Our pricing details can be found here.
2. Choose what kind of designer you want to hire.
   Learn more about our design details here.
3. Look at their portfolio.
   Please take a peek at our design portfolio here.
4. Read client testimonials.
   Click here to view our client testimonials.
5. Check out pricing.
   Our pricing details are listed here.
6. See if they offer additional services.
   We offer Search Engine Optimization and Social Media Management.
7. Ask lots of questions about the web designer's process.
   Our process is simple... Start with a free consult, We design your site, You review and give feedback, We finalize and launch :) 
8. Request references.
   We have many references available upon request. We've been building websites for over a decade, and we have many happy clients that can answer any questions you may have about the process.

We are not satisfied, until you are satisfied! We work closely with each client until you are happy with your new website!

Sign up for your FREE consultation here, and ask us any questions you have about the design process.

Being found online should be a priority for local businesses. Luckily, Google makes that easy with their GMB listings, however, ensuring it ranks for relevant search results in your area isn't always that simple. That is why we have pulled together 3 steps that will help your GMB listing appear in local results.

1. Consistent Branding & Message Throughout
First impressions are crucial and your GMB listing may be just that for some customers. Make sure your logo, imagery, and content are consistent with the look and feel of your website and other marketing materials.

2. Post New or Updated Content Frequently
Keep Google in the know by posting new content weekly whether it be videos, updates, new products, events, or offers.

3. Ask Customers for New Reviews
Send customers an email or text message requesting customers to leave a review after they buy a product or service. Once received, respond to both good and bad reviews in a timely fashion.

​Want Help? Let Us Do It For You!
From claiming your Google My Business listing to optimization, we have monitoring tools for full strategy implementation. We can make sure your business is front and center with potential customers.

What clients have to say...
"Crawford Designs provides an excellent service and I highly recommend them. Our web traffic is up dramatically, their follow-up and attentiveness are top-notch, and their pricing is extremely competitive. We consider the ROI on our monthly Local SEO investment with them to be exceptional! Our rep is very knowledgeable and makes the entire service turnkey."

Click here to learn more about Crawford Design's Local SEO Service.

1. How often should I be posting to GMB?
At a minimum, you should be posting on Google My Business once every 7 days. Many businesses post once per day, and have seen good results and improved rankings. Google tends to look favorably on businesses that use Google products frequently.

2. How long do GMB posts last?
Posts do expire after one week, so you'll need to keep updating them. Google has confirmed that most Google Posts are removed seven days after they are first published.

3. ​Does posting on Google My Business Help SEO?
Yes! Google my business posts are a great way to improve your overall SEO strategy. By posting to Google it can help you generate more organic clicks. Google posts come with CTA buttons which will encourage users to take action off the post. These organic clicks on the buttons, in return, will build up your page rankings.

4. ​How do you know if you need local SEO?
Any business with a physical brick & mortar location OR that serves customers in a particular geographic area needs Local SEO. Select 3 of your important keyword phrases (the things that customers would type in looking for a business like yours) and type them into Google. If you're not listed on the first page of Google's results, give us a call or click here for details on our SEO local packages!

5. ​How much does local SEO cost?
Local SEO pricing can range from $75 to $5,000 per month, according to our own observations of our industry. A study of SEO pricing by Moz found the majority of agencies charge a monthly retainer between $1,500 and $5,000. Get more details on our local SEO and check out our MUCH LOWER rates here!

​1. Do you have Google Analytics tracking set up?
2. Are you tracking your primary keyword phrase?
3. Is your page crawlable?
4. Is your page indexable?
5. Are you targeting the right keyword?
6. Have you already targeted this keyword?
7. Does your page satisfy search intent?
8. Is your primary keyword in the title?
9. Is your title click worthy?
10. Can you add modifiers to your title?
11. Have you used all your title tag real estate?
12. Is your page title wrapped in an H1 tag?
13. Is your primary keyword in the meta description?
14. Is your meta description click worthy?
15. Is your primary keyword in the URL?
16. Is your URL structure lean?
17. Is your primary keyword in the first sentence?
18. Is your keyword density too aggressive relative to your competitors?
19. Have you added variations of your primary keyword into the copy?
20. Have you added synonyms (LSI keywords) of your primary keyword into the copy?
21. Is your page different & better than your competitors?
22. Is your copy free of spelling and grammatical errors?
23. Is your copy longer (on average) than your competitors?
24. Is your copy written well?
25. Is your copy scannable?
26. Is your copy written for an 8th grader?
27. Is your copy engaging?
28. Does your copy use short paragraphs?
29. Are your headings structured logically?
30. Is your copy using descriptive headings?
31. Have you used keyword variations, LSIs, or synonyms in your headings?
32. Is your copy using bullet points and numbered lists?
33. Is your copy “fresh”?
34. Does your page have as many or more images than your competitors?
35. Are your images unique to your website?
36. Are your images high-quality?
37. Are you using the right image format?
38. Are your images sized appropriately?
39. Are your images compressed?
40. Do your images have descriptive file names?
41. Do all of your images have descriptive and accurate tag descriptions?
42. Does your page have video content?
43. Are the videos relevant to page/primary keyword?
44. Are the videos unique to your brand?
45. Are the videos high-quality and valuable?
46. Are the videos content responsive?
47. Are the videos hosted on the right platform?
48. Are the videos optimized?
49. Does your page have internal links?
50. Are your internal links using descriptive anchor text?
51. Are your internal links optimized based on first link priority?
52. Does the page have breadcrumbs?
53. Are you internal links useful?
54. Are all your internal links using preferred URLs?
55. Does your page have external links?
56. Are all affiliate, sponsored, or paid links using a “NoFollow” tag?
57. Do all your external links set to open in a new window?
58. Does your page have broken links?
59. Are all your links clearly links?
60. Does your page load in less than 3 seconds?
61. Is your page responsive and mobile friendly?
62. Does your website have an SSL certificate installed?
63. Is your font type legible and easy to read on all devices?
64. Is your font size large enough to easily read on all devices?
65. Does your page use aggressive interstitials?
66. Does your page have aggressive ad placements?
67. Is your address prominently displayed?
68. Is your address using structured data?
69. Is your page using structured data?
70. Is the structured data set up correctly?
71. Are you giving health, financial or legal advice?
72. Does your page have the appropriate disclaimers?
73. Does your page list and link to all sources of information?
74. Does your blog content have a visible author?
75. Is the author credible and qualified to write about the topic?
76. Does every blog post have a detailed author box/bio?
77. Does each author have a dedicated and detailed author page?
78. Does the page have a clear call-to-action (CTA)?
79. Is the page shareable?
80. Is the website design modern and updated?

​In your personal life, you may have been told that what other people think about you doesn’t matter. Unfortunately, you don’t get that luxury in the business world. Your business’s reputation is everything when it comes to various aspects of your business and the level of success you enjoy.

First Impression
When you think about first impressions, you probably think about the impression consumers get when they first walk in the door. Most of the time, though, that isn’t the first exposure they have to your business. Odds are they probably found you online first. They’ve probably gotten a feel for what your reputation is before they visit you, which will heavily influence their perspective of your business. As Vonage points out, once they visit, you’ll be dealing with confirmation bias, which can be very hard to overcome. Make sure your reputation is in line with the impression you want consumers to have.

Word of Mouth
What consumers think of your business matters, and how they vote with their wallets decides whether or not you stay in business. Word of mouth travels faster than ever, thanks to the internet, allowing people to tell the world what they think of your business simply by leaving a review. According to Podium, consumers trust insights from their peers more than any other source. If you want to influence the reputation you gain by word of mouth, make sure you respond to reviews. This gives you some degree of control over the narrative and a way to both build and protect your reputation.

Attracting the Best Talent
Your reputation matters to more than just potential customers. If you want to attract top talent to come work for you, you need to cultivate a business reputation that people want to be a part of. Consider the values your company espouses. People want to be proud of where they work and what they do for a living. Make it easier for them to feel that way by carefully selecting the values your business stands for and building a reputation worth being proud of.

The reputation your business has matters. It influences the first impression consumers form about your business, is easily impacted by word of mouth, and plays a role in how readily you can attract the best talent to work for you. If you want to be successful in business, work to cultivate a positive reputation that you can use to attract customers to you and keep them coming back again and again.

Want to improve your website’s first impression? Let us help!